YOUNGSTERS at Great Sankey Primary School have been celebrating after their idea was selected as a regional finalist in The School We’d Like competition.

The nationwide contest, run in conjunction with The Guardian newspaper, invites students and teachers to suggest designs that would improve the ‘quality of life’ for their school community.

Students at the Liverpool Road school hope to transform the outdoor area by creating a ‘Splat Shed’ – a combination of workshop, studio and gallery space – and now have a chance of winning £5,000 to make their idea a reality.

The school is one of nine shortlisted in the Scotland and the North region. The year six pupils behind the idea, Amelia Moore and Daniel Dean, headed to Newcastle last week for a Dragons Den-style final and will find out next month how they got on.

Head teacher Vicky Briggs said: “We have been told more than 700 schools have entered so it’s a great achievement to be in the final.

“Everyone was cheering in assembly when we told them and we’re so proud of Amelia and Daniel for speaking in front of the judges in Newcastle.”

Paul Tombs, head of education at Zurich Municipal, said the calibre of entries in this year’s competition had been ‘exceptional’.

He added: “The combined imaginations of students and teachers have developed some fantastic ideas on how to improve their schools to make them a better place to work and learn.”